by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 26.
- China’s Xi Signals Approval for Trump’s Trade War Demands (“Talks resume next week in Beijing, following week in U.S. President Xi promises to avoid competitive yuan devaluation”)
- Trump Doesn’t Want a “Better” Deal With Iran (“He wants to punish a place he doesn’t like—at any cost.”)
- Trump’s Strange, Tense Campaign Against Iran
- China’s Xi says Belt and Road must be green, sustainable
- North Korea issued $2 million bill for comatose Otto Warmbier’s care
- As Democrats Agonize, G.O.P. Is at Peace With Doing Nothing on Mueller’s Findings
- Trump sought out loyalist to curtail special counsel — and drew Mueller’s glare (“President Trump’s efforts to enlist Corey Lewandowski as a back channel were read by some legal observers as one of the clearest cases for potential obstruction of justice laid out in Robert S. Mueller III’s report.”)
- The Danger in Not Impeaching Trump (“It may be risky politically, but Congress has a responsibility to act.”)
- You have to think about electability (That’s basically all I’m thinking about – no “purity tests,” just win baby!)
- Trump’s Biden insults fueled by belief he can win (“The president sees the former vice president as his biggest threat in 2020, a Republican strategist says.”)
- The Democratic Field Is Set: 8 Questions About What Comes Next
- Joe Biden’s 2020 Announcement Claims America Is Better Than Donald Trump. Can He Prove It? (“He believes we are better than we’ve shown ourselves to be. He’d better be right, because the stakes are mortal this time around.”)
- Joe Biden Expresses Regret to Anita Hill, but She Says ‘I’m Sorry’ Is Not Enough
- Trump’s greatest threat has arrived (“The front-runner has finally thrown his hat into the ring. Joe Biden starts the 2020 campaign not only as the favorite for the Democratic nomination but also probably as a slight favorite to win the presidency itself.” Probably, but lots can change, as we saw last election cycle with “JEB!” and Trump.)
- Joe Biden, MAGA Democrat (“Why the former vice president needs voters to believe America was great before Trump ruined it.”)
- Why Is Joe Biden the Only Democrat Who Wants to Talk About Donald Trump?
- Thank God for Pete Buttigieg, the Christian right’s kryptonite (“Even if you don’t plan on voting for him, the contrast between Buttigieg and Trump will only help the Democrats”)
- Here’s the Kremlin’s playbook for disrupting the 2020 election (“From targeting voter rolls to deepfake videos.”)
- Armpits, White Ghettos and Contempt (“Who really despises the American heartland?” “The point is that if you look at what conservatives say to each other, as opposed to what they pretend to believe, it becomes clear that contempt for middle America is much more prevalent on the right than on the left.”))
- Paul Krugman busts the myth that liberals disdain rural states — and reveals the GOP’s ‘contempt for middle America’
- Jack Dorsey Keeps Finding New Reasons to Defend Hate Speech on Twitter (“Dorsey’s conversation with Rep. Ilhan Omar came as the company reportedly grapples with how to ban white supremacists—without affecting Republican lawmakers.”)
- Why Won’t Twitter Treat White Supremacy Like ISIS? Because It Would Mean Banning Some Republican Politicians Too. (Starting with Trump.)
- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called Rep. Ilhan Omar after Trump’s tweet sparked a flood of death threats —
- U.S. judge blocks new Trump abortion rule for health clinics
- LGBTQ Christians say Franklin Graham lacks ‘moral authority’ after comments on Buttigieg (“Graham said presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg should be repentant of his sexuality.” Franklin Graham is a partisan hack.)
- Dem race shows signs it could get nasty
- Five hurdles facing Joe Biden
- Biden makes hard push for African American vote
- How Fox News distorts the news: A Mueller case study
- “Executives Are Very Worried Fox & Friends Will Be Next”: After Taking Over Fox, Lachlan Murdoch Is in a Trump Trap
- Abuse By Boy Scout Leaders More Widespread Than Earlier Thought (Horrible.)
- Heather Heyer’s Mom Breaks Silence on Joe Biden Invoking Charlottesville for 2020 (“‘I wasn’t surprised,’ Susan Bro told The Daily Beast. ‘Most people do that sort of thing. They capitalize on whatever situation is handy.’”)
- Fate of Virginia’s carbon reduction program lies with Governor (“The clock is ticking for Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to act on the state budget currently sitting on his desk. By May 3rd, the Governor must decide whether to approve the budget as-is or whether certain items should be vetoed. Buried in this lengthy document is a provision that would tie Virginia’s hands when it comes to implementing real, sensible climate solutions. If the Governor does not veto this restriction, the newly approved carbon cap-and-trade program—that would lead to a 30 percent reduction in carbon emissions from power plants statewide—would be blocked before it even got started.”)
- Sen. Mark Warner ‘pretty damn disappointed’ in Navy, execs response to military housing problems
- Sen. Tim Kaine addresses roundtable on filling qualified worker gap
- Virginia Three avoid waves of national spotlight in bid to keep House seats (“Jennifer Wexton, Abigail Spanberger, Elaine Luria seen as Democrats’ barometer to retaining control” Wexton is in great shape, as far as I’m aware; Spanberger and Luria are in tough, purple districts.)
- Rob Bell: Fairfax accusations demand hearings
- Wall Street Journal: Trump administration’s proposed offshore oil drilling expansion ‘sidelined indefinitely’
- Rep. Donald McEachin Leads Letter Opposing Offshore Drilling in Virginia Waters
- FWIW Virginia: “With 2020 sucking up national attention, the DLCC is going all in to flip Virginia blue this year.”
- Republican lawmaker says Del. Chris Peace wanted endorsement in exchange for bill hearing
- National hepatitis A outbreak spreads to Virginia
- Editorial: Trump targets Virginia. Will it work? (Short answer: absolutely not, but please waste your time and money here!)
- Fife: The pipelines aren’t local
- Change Research Poll of SD35 Has Sen. Dick Saslaw Winning (53%-23%-9%), As Long as Negative Messaging About Him Doesn’t Penetrate Strongly to Voters
- Virginia lawmaker claims police violated ‘women’s rights’ by not letting her use restricted parking (“Republican state Sen. Amanda Chase complained that the capitol police were ‘democrat [SIC] operatives.'”)
- Federal subsidy to Metro would increase by $50 million a year under Senate bill (“The proposal from the Washington region’s senators is conditional on new oversight and safety measures.”)
- Virginia Beach city manager’s proposed $2 billion budget sparks contentious meeting
- Arlington Co. votes to change name of Jefferson Davis Highway (“Leaders in Virginia’s Arlington County voted late Thursday night to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway to either ‘Richmond Highway’ or ‘Richmond Boulevard.'”)
- Ricardy Anderson Wins Mason District Dems Endorsement for Fairfax County School Board
- In teacher Rodney Robinson, a struggling Richmond Public Schools scores a national victory
- Hampton council approves capital plan; has mixed views on proposed $29.5 million aquatics center
- Loudoun County School Board weighing whether to continue contract with Thomas Jefferson High School
- A Fairfax County police officer hit a cyclist, and then gave him a ticket
- Friday’s storms could turn severe in central Va.
- D.C.-area forecast: Waves of showers possible, and a strong to severe storm threat this afternoon
